Kirlian Images of Qigong Masters
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Copyright © 1997 by China Healthways Institute, CHI Institute First Edition, 1997. Second Web Edition 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, nor by any means, without written permission from the publisher. CHI Institute 4374 Dant Blvd Reno NV 89509, USA (714) 361-3976 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-92923 ISBN 1-889983-04-7 Published in USA NOTICE: This book does not intend to diagnose disease nor to provide specific medical advice. Its intention is solely to inform, to educate, and to inspire. 01 Bioelectric Vitality. Richard Lee. Copyright © 1997, 2020 2020 Preface: 25 years ago, CHI Institute published this book in hardcover form. As I review it for a new web edition, I am amazed at how much I still agree with. There are a few places where I have updated the text to include my scientific findings over the last 25 years. Principally, I now see the Bioelectric Vitality concept as a component of the vital field related mostly to Jing, the electrostatic field which conducts electrical impulses and electromagnetic quanta of energy to fuel the biochemical factories throughout the body. I do not see it as closely related to qi, the magnetic field that is the heart of emotion and compassion, or Shen which is probably a gravitational field that supports inspiration and innovation. The Jing is related to strength, immune response, will and determination. Through my research with the NESSOR, an electrostatic stimulator, I have come to see the Jing as also a seat of “physical consciousness”. This is the level of the deep unconscious, of inherited behavioral instincts, of unconscious shame, self-sabotage, of anxiousness and vigilance. It is also where PTSD reactivities are stored. I have not added the consciousness aspect of the electrostatic field to this text. In preparing my edits, there is one other area which caught my attention. At several points in the chapters of this book, I praised the government of China for sponsoring scientific research into medical Qigong and for encouraging millions of Chinese people to practice the basic health enhancing methods of morning Qigong practice in the parks, which I saw during my travels in China in the 1990’s. However, much has changed in China. I still have great respect for the people of China, but the government has cancelled their scientific research programs and has largely condemned the leaders of qigong movements and discouraged the public practice of qigong. Also, the young Chinese people I speak with know nothing of the fundamentals of qigong or the value of cultivating vitality. They view the qigong masters as nothing more than legend, a fantasy like Obiwan Kenobi and “the Force”. They have thoroughly adopted the western model which says, basically, that you are “healthy” until you need to go to a doctor to get a pill or surgery. Then you will be “healthy” again. They are rapidly losing an understanding of the value of vitality. Despite the repression of concepts of vitality in the US, there appears to be a greater understanding of the importance of vitality in American youth than in Chinese youth. As I pondered this, I realized that the problem the government of China faced was that practicing qigong cultivated consciousness, which includes intuitive knowing and moral discernment. This goes against the Communist ideals of people not being individuals, but rather being components of a 02 Bioelectric Vitality. Richard Lee. Copyright © 1997, 2020 cooperative, peaceful society. When people think creatively and have a strong intuitive sense for the difference between right and wrong, they don’t follow orders very well and are not influenced by government propaganda. Their program of promoting qigong practice among the masses had contributed to a mass awakening which forced the government to engage in unpopular repression. Repressing cultivating of consciousness brought greater uniformity to the people of China. Individual freedom and the encouragement to pursue life, liberty, and happiness is precisely what has given the US a competitive technological edge in the world today. There is a growing practice of yoga, tai chi, mindfulness, prayer, and meditation. People who are free of judgment, shaming, and repression pursue their own well-being and become more creative and innovative. We also become more passionate about taking risks to make the world a better place. Repressing individuality and personal responsibility assure some places will be less innovative and less competitive in the decades to come. The CHI Institute slogan “Enhance Your Human Experience” encourages individuals to choose self- care and cultivation of their own vitality and consciousness. The result will be a hot bed of innovation, moral clarity, and a better world. - Richard Lee, August 2020 03 Bioelectric Vitality. Richard Lee. Copyright © 1997, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1. The Chinese Science of Vitality Qi and Western Science Shen as Consciousness 2. Measuring Qi with Kirlian Photography What is Kirlian Photography? A Controversial History Moisture on the Skin Qi Explains Kirlian Findings Qi and Spontaneous Perspiration Searching for Kirlian Consistency The Safety of 30,000 Volts Burned Out Massage Therapists Transferring Qi Through Shoulder Massage Exchanging Massages Enhancing Qi Through Qigong Exercises 3. Kirlian Photography as Scientific Evidence Kirlian and Cancer Guangxi Tumor Hospital Kirlian Photography Supports Yin and Yang The Power of Ions The Guy with the Halo 4. Kirlian Images of Qigong Masters Photographing Masters Kirlian Photos at a Qigong Lecture My Qigong Treatment Understanding the Halo Seeking the Halo Experiment with Meditators Photographing More Masters 5. Airplanes Drain Qi Air Travel increases Streamer Formation Flight Attendants’ Burnout Recovery from Plane Flights Bibliography 04 Bioelectric Vitality. Richard Lee. Copyright © 1997, 2020 INTRODUCTION Human vitality is quantifiable. For thousands of years, Chinese doctors have insisted this was so, but western scientists have investigated these claims under the microscope and repeatedly found nothing. Even with X-ray, MRI, and a host of high-tech equipment, most scientists continue to insist that human vitality is nothing more than the product of a vivid imagination. For several decades, Kirlian photography has been used to photograph living things, usually leaves or fingertips, and the results have pointed toward some aspect of human energy affecting the images, but an acceptable framework for understanding the phenomenon has been evasive. A clear and useful understanding of human vitality has existed for thousands of years through Taoist science which stands as the basis of traditional Oriental medicine. It took me a decade of observing the daily application of these principles during my management of an acupuncture clinic to realize that the high curative effectiveness of acupuncture and Oriental herbal therapy are strong evidence that the theory behind them might have close ties to reality. Finally, I started considering that the principles of traditional Oriental medicine as literal facts, rather than convenient analogies, as most Westerners view them. Yin, Yang, Jing, Qi, and Shen: All are described as vital substances from which our physical world is constructed. As I studied these substances, it gradually dawned on me that I was observing the effects of these substances in the thousands of Kirlian photographs I had taken. In these photographs, there is evidence that they behave just as they had been described for centuries in Taoist literature! Contemporary western science and ancient Taoist science do indeed describe the same world but through different lenses: the lens of biochemistry and through biofield vitalization. Kirlian photography provides a bridge between them so that the West can penetrate further into the secrets of human health, and perhaps even some secrets of human consciousness which have remained hidden from the West within the theories of traditional Oriental medicine. 05 Bioelectric Vitality. Richard Lee. Copyright © 1997, 2020 THE TAOIST SCIENCE OF VITALITY Chapter 1 Qigong is the Taoist science of vitality which covers a vast territory. It is an ancient system of integrating the human body with the universe. The practice of Qigong involves cultivating abilities which go well beyond what we have previously defined as "normal" and "possible." It also offers a window through which Westerners can begin to understand the phenomenon of human vitality. Specifically, it provides a framework within which we can understand the elec-tromagnetic phenomena which produce the images seen in Kirlian photographs. Qigong Masters work with Qi. This Qi is largely why Oriental cultures seem "inscrutable" to outsiders. Qi is often translated as bioenergy and electromagnetic energy. It is also translated as every imaginable kind of energy. The electricity, oxygen and steam are considered forms of Qi because they contain significant amounts of energy. Vitality of Fruit Why is it that oranges can sit in a bag for weeks with every orange looking almost as fresh as when they were first picked? Then an ugly green mold attacks one of the oranges. Within a day or two, that orange is covered with the ugly green stuff. Logically, the oranges in direct contact with the moldy orange would immediately be infected as well. However, as you examine the oranges closest to the bad one you find that they're OK, but an orange or two on the other side of the bag have started to get moldy. From the standpoint of Qigong, each orange has Qi, an organizing field or coherence built from vitality, that maintains its defenses against invaders like mold. Those with the strongest vitality remain highly resistant to the mold's attack for months after being picked. Those with weak vitality are defenseless against its attack. Qi and Western Science Qi makes more and more sense to western scientists as theories like quantum physics and relativity enhance our under- standing of the universe.